velcroMedic1987

Not surprising that this thread gets no reaction or responses. We are our own worst enemy and the accidents and preventable injuries bear that out.

Have a standard, train to the standard and hold people accountable to make sure we meet the standard in everything they do.

Not surprising that this thread gets no reaction or responses. We are our own worst enemy and the accidents and preventable injuries bear that out.

Have a standard, train to the standard and hold people accountable to make sure we meet the standard in everything they do.

You are implying that this is a sound business in the first place, which it is not at all. Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement is a joke a best. An ambulance could do 30 billable runs a day but if they are all Medicare/Medicaid, no one will know when they will get reimbursement or how much. Could be 30% 2 weeks later, could be 10% 3 months later, literally no one knows, it is all based on Medicare/Medicaid how much reimbursement they are willing to pay for whatever you have done. I know we currently are at 22% of our fee is reimbursed by Medicare/Medicaid. If you are lucky, you have a patient with private insurance, maybe then, after arguing with the insurance company about how much reimbursement they will pay will you actually see reimbursement rate anywhere north of 50%.
As recently as last week, I was told to wait until 2pm on Friday to deposit the paycheck. I had to wait 2 weeks for them to order new defib pads so that they could ensure that they were going to make payroll.
However when dealing with companies that would rather pay $1000 for a tow job 50 miles than take the rig out of service for a day to replace a $150, you can see how in the end, it is all really just F'ed.

Posted these on another site and they're just as appropriate here.....

You don't need to collect a paycheck to act professionally....NEVER, EVER settle for being anything other than the best you can be!!
Career, volunteer or anything in between, if you're in the fire service it doesn't get any clearer that this....

This generates some interesting questions.
Why do NYS DOH BEMS vehicles even have red lights and sirens? Are they authorized emergency vehicles? (This creates an even more interesting question, why?)
Does the State of NY have an EMS agency code and inspect their own vehicles as "emergency ambulance service vehicles"?
Given the inherent danger of roadside stops, why on Earth would a state EMS rep decide to "pull over" another EMS vehicle on the side of the road? Couldn't he follow them to their base or hospital? What was the "emergency"? (I don't think this is an emergency operation under NYS law.)
If someone refuses to pull over for the DOH buff mobile what if anything can be done to them? They're not a peace or police officer are they?

This generates some interesting questions.
Why do NYS DOH BEMS vehicles even have red lights and sirens? Are they authorized emergency vehicles? (This creates an even more interesting question, why?)
Does the State of NY have an EMS agency code and inspect their own vehicles as "emergency ambulance service vehicles"?
Given the inherent danger of roadside stops, why on Earth would a state EMS rep decide to "pull over" another EMS vehicle on the side of the road? Couldn't he follow them to their base or hospital? What was the "emergency"? (I don't think this is an emergency operation under NYS law.)
If someone refuses to pull over for the DOH buff mobile what if anything can be done to them? They're not a peace or police officer are they?

Dude grow a thicker skin, nothing wrong with your post or SFRD18 providing some more information.

So today I passed a new Ford Interceptor with lights on pulled off to the side of the road. When I got a closer look, it said State EMS. The inspector was in the process of checking a commercial agency's supervisor/first response vehicle. My questions is this, what authority if any do they have to pull over a vehicle? Inspect, by all means, but is there legal precedent for the DOH to pull over a vehicle? I have always of inspectors doing their work in ER bays or ambulance stations/bases. I'm assuming most people would pull over out of courtesy, but are they required to do so? Was this simply because there can't be a patient in a response vehicle?

Fascism flourishes when the fear to speak your mind replaces the freedom to do so. Remember Nazism was "politically correct" once too.

To the "PC" police...
You may not like what I have to say, but I have the right to say it...you only have the right not to listen.

New York City mayor Bill deBlasio ordered city workers to remove the last remaining Confederate Battle flag flying from a city office. The flag which has flown there for over 100 years was removed and placed in a brown paper bag for safekeeping.
The mayor has also mulled prohibiting sweet tea and BBQ in restaurants….Curtailing any public showing in theaters and on TV of the popular movie classic ‘Gone With The Wind.’ Public Utilities director Abraham Schwartz also proposed removing all signs on city highways that say ‘south’ in a effort to eliminate all racial references.
The controversial mayor also ordered the city police department head Bill Bratton to hire more black police officers even though their background checks show a high percentage of drug use and criminal convictions. The mayor defended his actions by saying, “Who better to have on the street beats than cops familiar with drug sales and criminal enterprises.”
Critics say Police Commissioner Bill Bratton has a long way to go to comply with Mayor de Blasio’s demands that the number of black cops in the NYPD reflects the city’s overall racial makeup.
The two Police Academy graduating classes since Bratton took office in January 2014 were just .5 percent African-American…far below the 16 percent figure for black cops currently on the force.
De Blasio on Monday announced that 1,300 more cops would be hired after months of insisting there would be no cash for more officers in this year’s city budget.
The New York Times is also reporting that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had a tattoo of a Confederate flag and the motto “the south shall rise again” removed from a delicate part of his lower anatomy.
See full article here

https://www.faa.gov/uas/nprm/
The Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration has proposed a framework of regulations that would allow routine use of certain small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in today's aviation system, while maintaining flexibility to accommodate future technological innovations. The FAA proposal offers safety rules for small UAS (under 55 pounds) conducting non-recreational operations. The rule would limit flights to daylight and visual-line-of-sight operations. It also addresses height restrictions, operator certification, optional use of a visual observer, aircraft registration and marking, and operational limits.

RIP, John! You left us too soon and will be missed. Condolences to all his friends and family at the PCSO, Westchester ME, Westchester PSEF, Peekskill EMS, Cortlandt Paramedics.

Instead of comparing apparatus, how about we compare the personnel? That's the real issue here. Is the personnel complement in Yonkers higher or lower than in 1975? Does the comparison with 1975 even matter?
Who complies with NFPA 1710 and who doesn't?

They are also trying to make basement apartments legal again, it's like they forgot why these things were put in place. Then they will be shocked and horrified and blame the FD when fire fatalities go up.

You would think, that in light of the recent violence toward police officers around the Country, that they would not want to wear a police style uniform. They do not carry weapons, so when they are mistaken for police officers, they have no way to defend themselves. Also, they used to drive difference colored cars than the NYPD. Now, they drive the same colored cars too. It can be confusing to motorists who think that a vehicle with red lights behind it is a police car, when in fact, it is not.

One of the visionaries that you describe put it very well about 25 years ago, the "problem is short-term leaders and long-term problems". This is as true now as it was when Jon Politis said it then.
We haven't had a true visionary in our region in quite some time. Nobody is stepping up to carry the torch and beat the drum for EMS. Typically when someone does start, he or she is villified and ostracized for putting forth an unpopular opinion and the agencies just keep on doing their own ridiculous thing. Look at the discussions we have had hear that highlight the point that we don't have a system, we have a patchwork of band-aids covering a multi-trauma patient.
One of the most affluent counties in the nation, with abundant resources that would make a lot of other places jealous, and we still can't cobble together a rational plan for the future. What ever happened to Westchester2000? That was 30 years ago and we're 15 years past the inception with few to none of the recommendations actually implemented.
Who will be our relentless, energetic, tireless visionary that we recognize in 2030?

There are plenty of good EMS systems out there. Boston, King county, la county, some of the counties around DC come to mind. Westchester is not a system. It's a patchwork of solutions to issues. Without leadership, it won't change. Because, quite frankly, the people don't care. They do not care what the ambulance has written on it. They want someone to show up, be nice to them, fix them and get them to a hospital. With a pillow and a blanket. Seriously, that came out in a study/survey in Syracuse.
So unless someone inside or outside the system will step up and begin to build solutions, y'all are stuck with what ya got.
Ever notice that those model systems have a tribute page on their website to the visionary that made it happen? That's not by accident. Step up and lead if you want it fixed. Take charge of the EMS council and push. Read some of the tributes to visionary leaders. They have words like relentless, tireless, pursuing, energetic in them. Again, for a reason.

That was the 1st time it rained. Sorry if you missed it.
Note: nothing leaked, so we are starting on a good note.

Hope you weren't driving...

How can it be a secret if it drove past everyone from Nebraska to Conn.?

Sorry, Yes it AR-AFFF 1/3

Only nursing home evacuations. LOL

Peekskill and New Rochelle is dispatched by 60-Control. I think New Rochelle qualifies as a major city.
The question wasn't about 60-Control DOING police dispatch. The question was whether or not their staffing was changing as more departments leave the local PD dispatch and opt for 60-Control to do it.

I don't think the standard of measure or benchmark can/should be how many structure fires 60 Control can handle. There really is no metric for that.
I think better metrics need to be identified to determine if 60 is adequately staffed.
A better question would be how many fire departments can handle a structure fire.

More Chiefs then indians, no?
According to a source, 60 Control has steadily increased their workload almost 75% over the past decade - and hasn't increased their staffing.
It's a ticking time bomb and their "Director" has his hand on the detonator and the Commissioner does nothing about it.
Other than adding people in every unit except comms and buying millions of dollars worth of dust-collecting toys, what has changed for the better?!